Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-02-04
ROTATTONIN OFFICE.

COHLScG uSt SIueuI OuG II Was az WIN o4'
the time and the injury it wrought Gen
eral Maxey's cause was by no means in
significant. Twelve years of continuous
retention in office, and in as high place
as the United States Senate, is g long
time, and on the 18th of March neX'
General Maxey will complete his twelfth
year of senatorial life. 1t may be argued
that by parity of reasoning the same
principle should have applied to Judge
Reagan: that he has been member OF the
Lower, continuously, as long as General
Maxey has OF the Upper House. This is
true, but in reply it may be said that q
man who proves himself competent,
trustworthy and therefore valuable in one
place is always eligible to promotion, il
there is higher place 10 be reaChed.
Reagan was in the line of promotion and
was seeking it. The people were
seeking g successor for Msxey and
Reagan was ct hand. His course in
the Lower House had made him popular
with the people; his elevation would
make place for new man from the
Palestine district, and all things cons;d-
cred the Reagan boom was quite natural.
1t Is to be doubted if Gen. Maxey, even il
Judge Reagan had not entered the field,
would have found victory SC easy. Now
that the fight is over it is plain to see
there was q strong antiMaXey element
that would have put up a stubborn and
predetermined resistance. II is no use
coniecturiBg where this element would
have aligned itself, on what man it would
have concentrated. For time at least it
would have divided between Ireland and
Terrell, not strong enough to elect either
and yet sufficiently strong to have created
a deadlock, for time, at least-perhaps
time enough to have brought out q sue
cessful dark horse or compromise candi-
date. At the very least it would have
been vigorous enough to keep Maxey from
having walkover to reelection. And
at the bottom of this opposition would
have been found, as the handspring of
action. the rotation ides, the theory that
twelve years in the Senate is enough for
one man, no matter how able and patri-
otto he may be-let him step aside and
make room for somebody else. Perhaps
General Maxey's prestige and strength
would have sufficed to overcome this SEN
timent-there is no telling. But the fact
that the idea was formulated and at
work, and that it weakened man as
generally unassailable as Ma2ey is chiefly
now in view of its bearings
and operations in the future. Two years
hence the Twenty-frst Legislature will
have to elect Senator Coke's successor,
and then will come q contest that will be
historical, either for the ease with which
Coke will overcome opposition, or for
the bitterness of the struggle to GUST
him, who is conceded on all hands to be
the ablest man Texas has sent to
Washington since the days OF
Thomas j. Rusk and Sam Houston.
The next two years may so add to Coke's
prestige and strength, so fortify him in the
confidence and esteem of the people that
he will be invineible for third time. He
will need to look to his fences, though,
and in the time that is left to him so dem
onstrate his invaluabllity to the state that
the proposition to retire him will meet
with prompt and general opposition. AS
matters stand now, with all the prestige
Coke so Justly enjoys, with all the devot-
ed sdherents he can command, he would
find that he could not count on an unob-
st ucted return to the Senate. The same
idea, rotation in office, would be at work
in opposition to Coke, and it would be
used for all it is worth by ambitious,
nervy men. 1t raised its hand against
MsXey, and two years hence it will meas
ure strength with Coke unless, as above
suggested, Coke shall SO utilize those two
years as to make himself practically in
Mr.. Coke is q man who will
not close his eyes to the tendencies
of the times, and one thing is certain
that he will not be caught nap
ping. He is 8 man of remarkable brain
power, force, determination and ambi
ton. 1t may be expected, therefore, that
if his past ten years in the Senate have
been singulsrly useful and creditable, the
years of his term will be even
more SO. THE GAZETTE looks for bril-
liant, mastery efforts on Mr.. C,ke's part
between this time and the election of
1888, when the Legislature that is to
choose his successor will be elected. He
8 capsble unless We over-estimate the
nan, and we do not believe we do,) of
greater things than he has achieved, and
Is Politician, self-reliant and ambitious,
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